Today I'm profiling the perennial, Echinacea purpurea, also known as Purple (or other color) Coneflower. It's native to parts of North America and attracts birds and pollinators, including butterflies. Different colors are available, and it's relatively easy to grow.

Wildlife

Swallowtail and monarch butterflies enjoy Echinacea purpurea, as do several kinds of other pollinators. If you allow the flowers to remain on the plant instead of dead-heading, the seed heads attract goldfinches and other wild birds in the fall.

Blooms

The coneflower blooms from midsummer through mid-fall. Depending on the cultivar, it can bloom in pink, magenta, lavender, purple, and white.

Size and Sun

Heights can reach anywhere from 16 inches for dwarf coneflowers to 6 feet for taller coneflowers, and most coneflowers will grow approximately 36 inches wide. Like most flowering perennials, coneflowers like full sun to some partial shade.

Growing Information

Echinacea purpurea will tolerate coarse, fine, and medium soils. Guides indicate it needs a medium amount of water, but casual growers report good growth under somewhat abusive conditions.

Interesting Cultivars

Take a look at some of the coneflower cultivars available:

Coneflower Fatal Attraction PPAF

Coneflower White Swan

Coneflower Harvest Moon

Common Names and Related Species

Echinacea purpurea is also called Prairie Coneflower, Snakeroot, Scurvy Root, Indian Head, Comb Flower, Black Susans, and Hedge Hog.

Other echinacea species that attract wildlife include Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea paradoxa, Echinacea pallida, Echinacea sanguinea, and Echinacea tennesensis.

Notes

Echinacea may sound familiar; echinacea spp. are used as a popular herbal remedy. Native Americans used it as a pain reliever, an anti-inflammatory, a treatment for colds and coughs, a poison antidote, and treatment of wounds and infections.

More Information

• USDA Plant Profile
  
• PlantFiles
  
• Coneflowers at Park Seed